Compared with other grains, oats offer a high concentration of protein, a good distribution of amino acids, and fiber. Oat groats—the component of oats without the hull that is used to form oat flakes—are reported to have a high protein concentration in the range of about 13.8% to 25.5% by weight. See, Oat, Ch. 10 by V. L. Young and R. A. Forsberg, in “Nutritional Quality of Cereal Grains: Genetic and Agronomic Improvement,” pp. 466-475, published by the American Society of Agronomy, Inc., Madison, Wis. (1987). Moreover, the amino acid composition of oat protein is good compared to other grains. Although lysine is the major limiting amino acid in oats, oats still have a higher concentration of this amino acid than is typically found in other grains. Further, rolled oat groats are a good fiber source as they contain about 1.1% crude fiber and thus provide about 0.3 grams of crude fiber per ounce of rolled oat groats.
Whole groats that have been rolled or flaked are called “old fashioned” and generally have a thickness in the range of about 0.015 to 0.035 inches. Groats that have been cut and rolled are called “quick” or “instant” and typically have a thickness in the range of about 0.010 to 0.020 inches. Certain non-groat ingredients in particulate form, such as sweetener or flavors, have been mixed with either of these forms of flaked groats. Typically, however, such products are not suitable for bulk packaging because the mixed ingredients or materials tend to separate from the groats or oat flakes. As a result, such products can be only effectively packaged in small quantities, such as individually sized portions, for example.
Similar problems of ingredient separation are encountered in uncooked corn endosperm products.
Thus, there exists a need for an uncooked oat groat product that contains no added fat and has ingredients incorporated into the oat groats or at least partially adsorbed onto the surface of the oat groats. There also exists a need for economical methods for making the aforedescribed, inventive oat groat products, including methods that obviate the need for a drying step. There also exists a need for uncooked corn endosperm products having ingredients incorporated either into the corn endosperm or at least partially adsorbed onto the surface of the corn endosperm and for methods of making such corn endosperm products.